i made some adjustments to the first hat block design that i made and sent the iteration to our very own ohio jones, who made my original block. i do not think there is a single detail that he missed, just like last time. his work is perfect and i'm sure many others here who have engaged his services will agree.
this hat came off the block and i finished it on the weekend. i have named it in recognition of my friend who has an uncanny knack for working with wood. she is a beaver blend hat body with the usual indy g treatment.
presenting, 'The Howard Flyer':
i like this hat very much and i'm sure i can get a decent raiders hat out of the block as well............perhaps i'll make one of those in the future but for now, my satisfaction will keep me away from my little portable hat shop
Very wide bash but it looks good. It's Indyish but not completely. Please by all means show a picture of it on your head. The hat truly looks like one of your best to date just by glancing at it. How about the inside?
WhipDude wrote:Very wide bash but it looks good. It's Indyish but not completely. Please by all means show a picture of it on your head. The hat truly looks like one of your best to date just by glancing at it. How about the inside?
here's the guts
it's dark now but i'll try to get one of her on me noggin when the sun is back.
TIC, i was working on straightening the center dent just now.......i'll try to get that shot too
thanks for the kind words castor and crismans.....it's really great to hear from you gents after my long absence as i've spoken to both of you off COW at times and feel like i have formed some good acquaintances
WhipDude wrote:The inside looks good too! Now for us untrained eyes, is there any areas you think you can improve upon when it comes to quality?
now that is a great question sir. well, i'm consistently improving my pouncing skills. to me, it's the most unattractive aspect in hatmaking so it's probably the least developed skill that i have. i believe that my rabbit pouncing skills are pretty good but my beaver pouncing still needs some work.....considering that i compare the finish of my hats to my AB's.......fedora has got some serious mad skills when it comes to pouncing beaver...but i know he has some other tricks up his sleeve that i have yet to try. i've also wanted to try a felt stabilizing technique that a friend instructed me on. my hat bodies are western so they tend to be more resilient and less prone to the taper moster. i haven't had a need to try that yet. i've also got less anal in my construction techniques as i was making these hats missile proof. tearing down one of my hats was a bit of a chore and it did not lend itself to an efficient reblocking project. there's always small tricks to learn along the way which makes the process fun. i can say that it would be hard to find improvement in my blocking, brim cutting, sweat construction, sweat sewing, bow consruction, and bashing unless i sit down with one of the greats on this forum
i know, i know......you never can tell what a hat looks like till it's on someone......i'll try to get some more pics to show off ohio's craftsmanship: the hat is only as attractive as the block it came off imo.
I have to say that I was quite taken back with the name for your hat. WOW! What an honor! I am impressed that I can carve some wood...send it to you and you pull a hat like that off of it.
I had fun, and a challenge in making that block. I would have thought it easier than the last...but .....nope. Your schematics you sent me (which are for sale to the highest bidder!!...JUST KIDDING) helped me out tremendously.
I am becoming a huge fan of the loose pinch and you did a great job on it. I really cant wait to see it on your noggin....and to see what else you craft off of the block.
Lovely, lovely hat G!
As has already been said, you keep getting better & better at what you do (and kudos for that nice honor for Ohio Jones.)
Like everyone else here, I look forward to seeing a few shots of it on your head... in the meantime, allow me to say it's great to see you posting here more often.
Any week when I can see a new thread at Club Obi Wan that features a new Indy G hat is a good week.
All the Best,
Mitch
Glad you're back and making such a sweet hat, Indiana G. (Not going to harp on the perfection of the 360 stovepipe like I used to with you, because now I think I was a little wrong.) Happy hatting!
What about the center dent, too?
